First Car! FC3S with questions
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From: Milky Way
First Car! FC3S with questions
Just brought home my 2nd gen convertible with only 93k miles on it. i have a 13b with some questions
I recently came to a conclusion that i'm going to keep it garaged for the low miles. Every so often I go and turn it on to keep it warm and i noticed that white smoke comes out of the exhaust.
I recently came to a conclusion that i'm going to keep it garaged for the low miles. Every so often I go and turn it on to keep it warm and i noticed that white smoke comes out of the exhaust.
Not sure what's causing the white smoke; was told that i needed an oil change??
Also was told that it was because the FC was garaged for so long even before I bought it so i should pump supreme gas into my FC but i'm hesitant about the decision
Last edited by misterstyx69; Mar 24, 2013 at 06:32 AM.
welcome to the board. 
1. what does the "smoke" smell like?
2. if you just bought the car, then you're best served to just perform a full tuneup, fluid changes and safety checks. don't trust the previous owner's word.
3. there's no NEED to run high octane, but ultimately it is your car and your choice.
opinion:
as far as garaging the car goes, my instinct is to ask ... why? you'd probably have to wait another 20 years for 93K to mean something in terms of sale, and even then, it still won't mean much, if anything. why not enjoy your car? besides, it will remain healthier if you're driving it.
1. what does the "smoke" smell like?
2. if you just bought the car, then you're best served to just perform a full tuneup, fluid changes and safety checks. don't trust the previous owner's word.
3. there's no NEED to run high octane, but ultimately it is your car and your choice.
opinion:
as far as garaging the car goes, my instinct is to ask ... why? you'd probably have to wait another 20 years for 93K to mean something in terms of sale, and even then, it still won't mean much, if anything. why not enjoy your car? besides, it will remain healthier if you're driving it.
Rotorhead
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 9,136
Likes: 39
From: Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
The first problem I see here is a delusional owner. Your car originally had a 3-year, 36,000 mile warranty. Anything past this means the car is past its prime. At 25 years old and 93,000 miles your car is downright decrepit.
OK, now that we got that out of the way, has the gas been sitting in the tank for a very long time? If so, then that could be the smoking problem. It is best to drain old gas out of the tank. Some people will tell you to dilute it with super unleaded, but this is not really much of a help. Normally, your engine runs on regular unleaded, ethanol content not to exceed 10%.
If the gas is not the problem, then the smoke is either from leaking fuel injectors, leaking oil, or leaking coolant, all of which are typical geriatric problems with any car this old. If you can narrow it down to the fuel injectors, then you can send them out for "rebuilding", or just replace them with new injectors. Most likely the engine is leaking oil or coolant, which means it will need to be rebuilt. Unfortunately, rebuilding the engine will probably cost more than you paid for the car, but on the good side the engine should then last for about 100,000 miles before it needs a rebuild again. Below is a link to typical pricing, and you can see that it depends a lot on which components need to be rebuilt. This is important to understand because it shows the price difference between rebuilding the engine now vs. rebuilding it after it completely fails and ruins even more parts.
86-92 Non-turbo Engines
As mentioned in the above post, driving a car on a regular basis will keep it in much better shape. For the FC RX-7, make sure you rev it past 4,000rpm every time you accelerate, and every now and then take it up to 7,000rpm. Occasional redlining is OK. The engine was designed to make peak hp at 6,500rpm.
In the 2Gen section of this forum we have a FAQ that has links to free online manuals. Chapter 0 has a maintenance schedule, and most people like to follow the "unique driving conditions" schedule. This will tell you when to change the oil. I would recommend a viscosity, but "Milky Way" doesn't tell me a damn thing about your location. In Chapter 2 there is a diagram showing which viscosity to use. Castrol GTX is generally the preferred oil for street cars because it is not too expensive and it does a good job of keeping the engine clean.
https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generati...faq-fc-494667/
OK, now that we got that out of the way, has the gas been sitting in the tank for a very long time? If so, then that could be the smoking problem. It is best to drain old gas out of the tank. Some people will tell you to dilute it with super unleaded, but this is not really much of a help. Normally, your engine runs on regular unleaded, ethanol content not to exceed 10%.
If the gas is not the problem, then the smoke is either from leaking fuel injectors, leaking oil, or leaking coolant, all of which are typical geriatric problems with any car this old. If you can narrow it down to the fuel injectors, then you can send them out for "rebuilding", or just replace them with new injectors. Most likely the engine is leaking oil or coolant, which means it will need to be rebuilt. Unfortunately, rebuilding the engine will probably cost more than you paid for the car, but on the good side the engine should then last for about 100,000 miles before it needs a rebuild again. Below is a link to typical pricing, and you can see that it depends a lot on which components need to be rebuilt. This is important to understand because it shows the price difference between rebuilding the engine now vs. rebuilding it after it completely fails and ruins even more parts.
86-92 Non-turbo Engines
As mentioned in the above post, driving a car on a regular basis will keep it in much better shape. For the FC RX-7, make sure you rev it past 4,000rpm every time you accelerate, and every now and then take it up to 7,000rpm. Occasional redlining is OK. The engine was designed to make peak hp at 6,500rpm.
In the 2Gen section of this forum we have a FAQ that has links to free online manuals. Chapter 0 has a maintenance schedule, and most people like to follow the "unique driving conditions" schedule. This will tell you when to change the oil. I would recommend a viscosity, but "Milky Way" doesn't tell me a damn thing about your location. In Chapter 2 there is a diagram showing which viscosity to use. Castrol GTX is generally the preferred oil for street cars because it is not too expensive and it does a good job of keeping the engine clean.
https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generati...faq-fc-494667/
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